


It's not easy being wheezy

by Ry_is_gay



Category: Bravest Warriors (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Asexual Character, Asthma, Bisexual Character, Gay, Gay Character, Help, M/M, Pansexual Character, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-12 07:27:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13542588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ry_is_gay/pseuds/Ry_is_gay
Summary: A mishap in Danny's work causes Chris to find out about his asthma, and later find out about his anxiety. Chris tries his best to help, while Danny tries his best to avoid it. What could go wrong?





	1. Note to self- don't breathe in smoke

Danny was accustomed to having his inventions fail. Sure, he didn't like it, but at least he was used to it. So, when his newest machine (a weaponized waffle toaster- don't ask)  started vibrating and sparking dangerously, Danny knew exactly what to do.  
He ran around frantically, screaming internally as smoke filled the room.  
He yanked a fire extinguisher from the wall and didn't bother aiming before letting loose. His workroom was already messy anyways, mounds of white foam wouldn't make much of a difference.  
Unless you had working eyes, of course.  
The small fire stopped, but the smoke had already filled the room, and it was getting hard to breathe.  
Danny coughed and tried to cover his mouth and nose with his shirt. The smoke stung his eyes, making them water.  
Now it was hard to see aswell.  
Just what he needed. Great.

He stumbled towards the door, tripping on random objects until he ran into a wall.  
By now he was wheezing, his lungs tightening painfully. Every breath was getting shorter and faster. He couldn't get enough air.  
Panic was starting to set in, worsening his condition, and he desperately pawed at the door until it opened.

The chocking boy fell to the floor, gratefully taking tiny gulps of air. His chest was still tightening.  
Danny's hands flew to his pockets, but didn't feel any plastic lumps. His puffer must still be in his room.  
Which was still full of smoke.  
Even greater.  
He tried to calm his breathing, but he was panicking too much, and his asthma refused to obey.  
His vision was still blurry, and black spots were dancing in his eyes.  
He could tell he was going to pass out soon if he didn't do anything about this.  
Would Wallow be able to help?  
Danny shakily got to his feet and staggered down the hall towards Wallow's room. Wallow was the team healer, he was bound to have stuff for asthmatics, right?  
Leaning against the wall, Danny continued his jerky pace around a corner before being knocked over by a taller figure.  
"Danny! Are you okay? I smelled smoke so I came to make sure every thing was alright."  
Danny attempted to get back up, but didn't make it far. The air had been knocked out of his already deprived lungs, and his head was even dizzier now.  
Chris kneeled at his side and tried to help him up, only to be waved off by Danny.  
"I'm fine, dude."  
He wheezed, coughing as soon as the words left his mouth.  
Chris frowned, obviously not believing him.  
"No, you're not."  
Once again he put his hand on Danny's back, ignoring the brunette's futile attempts to wave him off.  
"No, really, I'm f-"  
Danny was sent into a coughing fit, wheezing harshly and shaking with every cough.  
Chris' eyes widened as he felt Danny shudder.  
"Come on, let's get you to Wallow."

The trip to Wallow's was a short one, thankfully. It helped to have Chris supporting him, but Danny hated having to inconvenience Chris just because he couldn't breath or whatever.  
He could tell Chris had a lot of questions, but was holding them back since making Danny answer wasn't the best idea right now.  
Chris knocked on Wallow's door with his right hand. His left was wrapped around Danny with his fingers pressed against his ribs.  
Danny did his best to ignore the ticklish sensation.  
The door opened up, revealing Wallow in all his lovable glory.  
"Oh hey guys, what's-"  
Wallow cut himself off as he glanced at Danny.  
Glazed eyes, unsteady feet, harsh wheezes with occasional hacking coughs? This boy needed some oxygen.  
Wallow urgently pulled them inside, dragging Danny over to sit at a hospital bed.  
"Puffer." Danny whispered hoarsly.  
Wallow immediately yanked open a cupboard, showing various inhalers and spacers to the other warriors.  
Wallow grabbed a smaller red one, handing it to Danny.  
"It's just a resue inhaler, it uses albuterol."  
Danny pressed it to his lips after an exhale, breathing in and pushing down on the canister. He tried to breathe as deep as possible (meaning he only breathed in for two seconds) before exhaling again.  
He did this a couple times before guiltily meeting Chris' concerned stare.

"Why didn't you tell me you had asthma?" He sounded kinda angry.

"That wasn't asthma, that was just from breathing in some smoke."  
Danny played with the end of his jacket.

"Nah, those wheezes were definitely asthmatic. I'm a doctor, Danny."  
Wallow, of course, decided to ruin Danny's lie.

"Why are you still trying to lie about your asthma?"  
Chris sounded pretty frustrated, which wasn't helping Danny's anxiety.

"Chill, dude. Don't worry about it, everything's totally chill." 

Danny headed towards the door with his hands held up placatingly as to hopefully calm down Chris.

Chris grabbed Danny's wrist as soon as he tried to pass him.

"Danny, this is serious. What if we were out on a mission and you had an attack? You could die."

Danny continued to try and avoid the subject.

"Don't sweat it, bro. I got it covered."

"You mean this has happened before!?"

Okay, so maybe saying that wasn't the best idea.

"Chris, my man, my dude, my bro. I can handle it, I just didn't think it was that important."  
Danny tried to pull his hand back, but Chris didn't budge.

"Danny, we're a team. We have to know eachother's limits. You should have told us." 

Great, now Danny was being scolded. He didn't even do anything! He just didn't want to drag everyone down, that's all. He was perfectly healthy, excluding his lung problem and mental state.

"It's just asthma, tons of people have it, and they probably have it much worse than me!"

Danny really needs to learn how to make someone not worry about him. It seems that his efforts to make Chris chill were in vain, because Chris' grip only tightened at those words.

"Danny, I don't care. This still effects you badly. There's no excuse."  
Chris sighed, loosening his grip before making eye contact with his shorter friend.  
Danny hated it when he did that. It felt like chris was staring into his soul, figuring out his feelings and uncovering his vulnerabilities. It made Danny feel naked.  
Chris' eyes softened.  
"Next time, if there's anything going on with you, let us know, okay?"  
Danny nodded on reflex.

"Sure bro, I promise."

Chris looked at him for a couple seconds longer, before nodding and smiling.

"Glad we got that sorted out."

And just like that, Chris went from scolding leader to lighthearted friend. Danny blinked at the change, taking a second to adjust.  
Chris looked around, noticing that Wallow had left sometime during their conversation, before turning towards the exit.  
Danny started to follow, but paused when Chris stopped at the doorway.  
Without turning around, he spoke.

"I really did mean what I said, Daniel. If you keep all your problems to yourself, I'm gonna be seriously mad."

Danny gulped, and put a reassuring smile on his face despite Chris not being able to see it.

"Aha, yeah, totally bro." He replied lamely.

Chris nodded again and continued walking, leaving Danny in silence.

For the love of dogs, what had he gotten himself into?


	2. Sweet dreams, idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris starts to care more about Danny's wellbeing, and Danny is still being stupid.

In hindsight, making a promise to Chris probably wasn't a good idea either. He seemed to be having a lot of bad ideas recently. It felt like Chris was constantly watching him for the slightest weakness, and if Danny happened to show any weakness, then Chris would probably blow a fuse trying to make Danny talk about it.  
Don't get him wrong- he appreciated Chris' concern, he really did, but it was getting quite suffocating.  
Plus, Chris was always randomly checking in on Danny whenever he was alone in his room or working on another one of his projects. He also seemed to have the perfect timing- meaning that whenever Danny was in the middle of something intricate, like alighning screws on a portable mini fridge, Chris would waltz right in and ruin Danny's focus.  
And, of course, Chris would also barge in whenever Danny was in a compromising position- like now, for instance.  
Danny was simply resting his eyes while sitting at his desk, definitely not drifting off to sleep, of course, when Chris barged in.  
Really, you couldn't blame Danny for taking a nap though, could you? He had been having sleepless nights ever since the whole 'asthma' incident happened, and his anxiety was always on edge. He'd actually had a couple panic attacks before, which wasn't fun, and his mind desperately craved rest.  
Hearing his door slide open, Danny startled. His eyes were still blurry with sleep, and his hair was somehow already messy. Mind not catching up yet, Danny cluelessly looked around the room before spotting a blue blob.

"Chris?" 

Danny's quiet voice cracked, making him cringe on the inside.

"Hey Danny, did you fall asleep?"

Chris took in the exhausted look Danny had, and felt slightly guilty for waking him.

"Ah- no dude, I was just resting my eyes."

Danny rubbed his eyes and sat up straighter, ignoring his body's protests.

Chris hastily took a step forward, a worried look on his face.

"Danny, if you need sleep then that's perfectly fine, you can keep on napping. Sorry for waking you."

Danny didn't like the apologetic look on Chris' face. It wasn't his fault, Danny shouldn't have been asleep in the first place.

"Don't worry about it, bro. Chill."

Danny gave him a reassuring smile, hoping that Chris would drop it and go back to being his lighthearted self.

Chris glanced at Danny's alarm clock. It was 6:37 pm. A bit early to go bed, but Danny needed it.

"Come on."

Chris walked over and gently pulled his sleep deprived friend to his feet. Danny's legs had fallen asleep, so unfortunately for Danny, Chris was supporting his weight again.  
Chris didn't complain, but Danny still felt guilty.

The blonde pulled him over to bed, and Danny realised what was happening.

"Oh, no, really Chris, I don't need any sleep. The fridge isn't done, and I know Wallow was looking forward to-"

"Nope. Break time. You gotta sleep, Danny. This is really bad for your health."

Chris was frowning slightly, but was thankfully focused on Danny's bed so he didn't make eye contact with the red warrior. Danny was never a fan of eye contact.

"Chris, I really appreciate what you're trying to do here-"

"Danny, I will stay in this room all night if I have to. You are getting some sleep, and that's that."

Danny could tell Chris was serious about this, and once Chris is serious about something, there's no stopping him.  
Danny sighed and reluctantly climbed into his bed, pulling the covers over him.  
Danny waited for Chris to leave.  
He didn't.

"You can leave now, I'm fine."

Chris narrowed his eyes at him.  
"Are you?"

"Yes."

"You sure you won't get up as soon as I leave?"

"Certain."

"Danny, you know I hate it when you lie to me."

Danny did his best to look offended.  
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing, your lack of trust hurts my feelings. I will accept your apology if you get out of my room."

Chris sat down on Danny's bed.  
"That's it, I'm staying."

Danny tried to push him off.

"Chris!"   
Hopefully whining extra loud would make Chris leave.

"Nope. You brought this on yourself."

"Chriiisssss!"   
Maybe if Chris' ears started to bleed he would leave. One could only hope. 

"Danny, you're one of my bestest friends, but if you go any louder I'll suffocate you with a pillow."

Resorting to his last line of defense, Danny did his final move.  
Puppy dog eyes.  
Doing his best to look pathetic and pleading, he turned to Chris.  
Chris immediately covered his eyes as to not fall for the heartwrenching act.  
"Chris, pleaassssee?"   
As much as it pained him to beg, he knew that the puppy dog eyes alone would not get Chris to leave.

"Stop it."

"But Chris, I'm just making sure that you'll be able to get a good night's rest."

"That's what I'm trying to do for you!"

"Chri-"  
Danny was cut off by a pillow to the face.

"I know what you're trying to do, and I don't like it. Now shut up and get some sleep."

At last, Chris got up to leave.  
Danny silently cheered until Chris spoke again, this time from the doorway.

"If find out that you didn't get enough sleep tonight, I'm going to tie you to your bed until you do. Understood?"

Talking from doorways must be Chris' new favourite thing to do.  
"Yeah, yeah. Go have fun with beth, loverboy."  
Danny didn't miss the way Chris' ears went red.  
"Whatever, Vasquez."

Danny laughed quietly as Chris walked out completely and closed the metal door.  
There was a strangely tight feeling in his chest, and for a second he worried he was having another asthma attack.   
Sighing, he laid back down on his bed. Now that he was in it, he didn't want to get back up.  
The spanish boy let his eyes close and waited for sleep to take him.

Yeah, maybe getting a good night's sleep wasn't such a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fandom is still dead, but slightly less. Woohoo, gay space kids. I'm trying to keep them in character, but I haven't watched the show in a while so sorry if I get something wrong.  
> Thanks for reading, I'll try to update sometime in the next few days.


	3. Unwanted help is the best yet worst help to have

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris find out about Danny's anxiety and helps him.  
> Danny isn't pleased.

Waking up to warm rays of sunlight was a feeling that Danny could totally get behind. The latino couldn't remember the last time he had slept this well, but it felt amazing.  
Groaning, the freckled brunette sat up. He absentmindedly looked out the window before having a mini-panic attack.  
The postman had dropped off his anti-anxiety medications.

Danny practically bolted out of his room, dodging wallow when he ran past the doctor's room.  
He had to get those meds before anyone else did.

He almost tripped over the doorway when he rushed outside, immediately sprinting towards the mailbox. 

He almost broke the metal box from how hard he opened it. Thrusting his hand inside, he felt around for the cardboard box.  
Relief flooded through his veins when his hand closed around his package.

Now, all he had to do was make sure no one read the label on his package and continue to pretend his mental illness didn't exist.  
Fun.

Danny sighed silently. It wasn't too bad, he guessed. He'd been doing it for years anyway, at least he was used to it.

Since he was still in his pyjamas he unfortunately didn't have any pockets to slip his package in. He really should have thought ahead.  
He jogged back towards the hideout, trying to be inconspicuous about hiding the package.

"Morning, Danny!"

Danny almost peed himself when he heard an overly-cheerful voice to his right.

"Uh- hey, Wallow" Danny smiled his usual confident grin as he turned to greet his friend.

"Whatcha doin'?"  
Danny must be lucky today, because Wallow was too busy making pancakes to notice what Danny was holding.

"Nothing much, my pal. Just gotta keep working on the fridge-thing."

"Oh, rad. Let me know when it's done, it'd be super handy to have around."

"Ha, you betcha'."

Danny speedwalked away, glad for the conversation to be over. Beth and Chris must be off training or something, seeing as he hadn't seen them around.

Opening the door to his room, Danny collapsed onto his bed. That was way too much stress for this early in the morning.  
Right, he should probably take the medication he risked so much for.

Cutting the tape, Danny pulled up the lid on the box. There wasn't any local pharmacies near by, so he had to have his pills shipped to him. 

Pulling out the small bottle, Danny unscrewed the cap and poured two of the pills into his hand.  
Right, he should probably get some water.  
Getting back up, the red warrior left his room once again.

"Hey, Wallow."

"Oh hey, Danny. Didn't you say you were going to work on the portable fridge?"

"Yeah, just needed some water."

Now that his pancakes were done, Wallow sat at the counter, chewing on his fresh breakfast.  
"Staying hydrated? Radical."  
Danny nodded before grabbing a glass.

"Yeah, gotta stay healthy, right?"  
Ok, so maybe it was a bit hypocritical of him to say that, but he was trying.

"As both your friend and doctor, I approve."

Danny laughed as he filled his glass. Living with friends was great.  
He sent a wave to Wallow before heading back to his room. As he walked back towards the lower levels of the hideout, he started to get a weird feeling.

Tensing, Danny kept walking, albiet slower than before. It could just be his anxiety, but he felt like something was off. Like he had been caught doing something bad.

Opening his door, he found that he had a reason for feeling that way.

Inside his bedroom, Chris Kirkman was bent over his bed, reading the label on his package.  
Danny felt his stomach drop.

"Chris."  
Danny felt his voice crack, but couldn't bring himself to care.  
He expected Chris turn around, face red from being caught, stammering apologys. Danny wished he did that. Surprise, surprise, turns out Danny wasn't lucky.

"Daniel."  
Danny shivered, fear making him shake. Chris only said his full name when he was beyond angry.

"Chris- what are you doing in my room?"  
Chris straightened up, standing stock still.

"I was looking for you, but you weren't in here. Then, I found this-" He jestured towards the empty box- "and read the label. Apparently, you've been keeping more secrets, Danny."

The boy in question took a couple steps backwards, his body automatically preparing for a hit.

"Didn't we have a deal, Danny? Didn't you make a promise to me?"

"I-I-"

"You promised, Danny. Promised."

Chris turned around, facing the terrified boy.

"Chris- Chris I-"

"I'm not happy, Daniel. Not. Happy."  
Chris' eyes were taking on a feint yellow glow. Danny couldn't breath.  
The walls were closing in. His chest was impossibly tight. He couldn't breathe.

Chris' eyes widened as his powers detected the sheer amount of panic radiating from Danny.

Danny was trembling.  
Chris knows, he knows and he's going to kill me.  
Chris started to worry, feeling Danny's emotions get too intense to handle. He had to calm him down, or else he'd pass out.  
Channeling his powers, Chris did his best to project his reassuring and calming emotions to Danny. He'd never done this before, but calming his friend was his only priority.

Danny, meanwhile, was leaning heavily against the wall as the room started to spin. His thoughts were moving too fast to process, and his breaths were coming just as fast. His vision was going black, and he knew he was coming pretty close to passing out.

Just when he thought he was going to lose consciousness, a foreign calm washed over him.  He suddenly felt safe, like nothing could hurt him.  
He took a deep breath, his heart slowing back down to a normal pace.  
He opened his eyes, not realising he had closed them, and looked over at chris.

The blonde's eyes were glowing, brilliant orbs of yellow making him look otherworldly.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Danny's brain hadn't quite caught up with his sudden mood change.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked again, eyesbrows furrowed in concern. His eyes were back to their original baby blue.

"I'm okay." Danny whispered, afraid Chris would get mad again.

Seemingly reading Danny's mind, Chris opened his mouth.  
"I'm not going to get mad again. I'm sorry for scaring you, I was just upset you lied. I shouldn't have done that."

Taken aback by the apology, Danny blinked.  
"You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I lied to you, you have every right to be mad."

Chris took a step forward.  
"I still should have been more careful. You have anxiety, getting angry at you was a stupid thing for me to do."

Chris had that heartbreaking look on his face, the kind that made you want to do something stupid in order to get rid of it.  
Danny hated it when Chris was apologetic.

Getting annoyed, Danny argued back quickly.  
"I should have told you! This is my fault, idiot. You should be furious!"

"No, you should be furious! I made you have a panic attack!"

"It's not your fault I have anxiety!"

"It's not yours either!"

"Yes, it is! If I wasn't so weak, it wouldn't have affected me!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've heard!"

"No, it makes sense!"

During their shouting match, the two had grown closer, until eventually only having a foot of space between the two.  
Having the height advantage, Chris loomed over Danny, making his argument seem stronger.  
But Danny wasn't giving up. glaring up at Chris, Danny yanked the other down by his collar, making him eye-level with the Latino.

The two glared at eachother, waiting for the other relent.  
After a few seconds, Chris let his face soften.

"You can't blame everything on yourself, Danny."

Danny's eyes widened, and he felt them begin to water. Blinking away the rising water, Danny shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about."  
He let Chris go.

Chris sighed, but didn't argue.

"Whatever, Danny."  
Danny quickly changed the subject.

"Anyways, what was with that mad emotion lord power?"

Chris blinked, having somehow forgotten.

"I don't know. I just wanted to calm you down."

Danny laughed.

"Well, it worked. Think you could do that everytime I'm nervous?" He laughed, obviously joking.

Chris, however, seemed to take his suggestion seriously.  
His eyes widened, realising he could actually help his friend with his anxiety.

"That's... Actually a good idea!"  
Danny gulped.  
"Ah- I didn't really mean-"

"No, wait, that could work!"

Chris looked Danny in the eyes, face lit with excitement.  
Oh no, now how was Danny going to say no to that face?

"I could get better at controlling my powers and help you at the same time!"

"No- Chris, you don't need to-"

"It's perfect!"

Chris yanked Danny to his chest in a hug, winding him.  
Not having enough air to argue, Danny could only reluctantly nod in agreement.

Chris pulled back, his smile nearly blinding his friend.  
Danny smiled back shakily, screaming on the inside.

Welp, he was positively fucked. If it made Chris this happy, then he quessed he could go along with it.

"See you later Danny, I'll come by tomorrow to check in again."  
Still grinning, Chris waved cheerfully before walking out.

Danny waved back half heartedly, watching his friend leave.

Deciding to change out of his pyjamas, Danny walked over to his wardrobe.

He tried to ignore the heat on his face and the butterflys in his stomach as he sifted through clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda feel like I rushed this chapter, but at least I'm making progress on the plot. I had to draw storyboards in order to know what I was doing lol.


	4. Take a chill pill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's finally honest about something

Not sleeping really was a horrible thing to experience. He had managed fine before, but then Chris made him realise how much his body hated him, and he was suffering the consequences.  
The groaning brunette dragged himself out of bed, deciding to finish off the portable fridge.  
He looked down at his boxers.

Yeah, maybe he should get changed first.  
Five minutes later, filled with curses and struggling, he went back to do what he originally planned for.

The fridge was mostly done anyway, but the temperature kept randomly skyrocketing, and the door kept getting stuck.  
Maybe he could relieve pressure from the door by adding more support to the frame? Or maybe the temperature was causing it? How could he fix the temperature?

The hours flew by as Danny adjusted his machine, screwing in ventilation rifts to cool it down, and straightening up it's slight tilt.  
He also got hot glue on his hand and nearly cried about it, but let's just forget about that part.

Danny opened the door, happy that it opened with ease, and tested the temperature.  
Yup, it worked.

He let out a small cheer of victory, glad that he could now give this thing to Wallow and forget about it.

He was just getting ready to lift it when he heard a knock on his door. He glanced at the entrance and wasn't surprised to see a tall blonde.

"Come in." 

Chris stepped into the cluttered room.  
"Hey Danny, how're you feeling?"

The boy in question mentally sighed.  
"I'm fine Chris. How are you?"

"Great!"  
Danny overted hid eyes from Chris' blinding smile.

"So, are you ready to start?"

"What?"

"I'm here to help your anxiety, silly!"

Oh. That. Well, Chris sure was helping his anxiety, but not in the good way. He could feel panic flutter under his skin every time he saw Chris.

"Right, well, I don't really need any help right now, so maybe come back another time?"  
Danny felt bad the moment Chris frowned slightly.

"Are you sure, Danny? You seem kinda nervous."

"Nervous? Me?" Danny laughed, his confident persona kicking in. 

"Yeah. I can feel it."

Danny swallowed. Emotion lord, right. How could he forget? Had he been taking the medication he'd worked so hard for? Danny quickly thought back to the past couple days, before being rudely interrupted by Chris.

"I know you're anxiety hasn't gotten any better. Let me help, please," Chris gently pleaded. The puppy dog look was back, and Danny felt his resolve crumble.

He heaved a sigh, persona slipping away. It was worth a try, at least.

"Yeah, yeah... I'll let you help me this time."

Chris' eyes brightened and his smile was back. 

"Okay, how do you want to do this? Do we, like, stand here, or shake hands, or is there, like, a... Ritual?"   
Nervous rambling was one of Danny's many skills.

Chris let out a laugh, warming Danny's insides from the sheer happiness of it.

"'Ritual'? Who do you think I am, Danny?"

Danny spluttered, more for show than anything.  
"I don't know how all this 'emotion lord' stuff works! You're the expert, not me!"

Chris chuckled, his smile still up.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Just... Close your eyes and relax or something. Maybe focus on your feelings?"

Danny took a deep breath and let his eyes slip shut. Focusing on his anxiety seemed like a bad idea, though. Wouldn't it be better if he just ignored it? Focusing on it would just make it worse.  
Yeah, it's better if he just blocked out his emotions. After all, thinking too much only makes things worse, and leads to questions and doubts. He would never do that... Right?

"Danny, I can't get in."

Danny startled, opening his eyes and meeting bright gold ones.

"What?"

Chris sighed, sounding slightly irritated. The glow of his eyes was fading back to blue.

"Your emotions. They're closed off to me."

"Oh. Why?"  
Danny blinked, still not understanding.  
Chris took another couple step forward until his hand was resting on Danny's shoulder.

"You're still not being open with your emotions. Are you even accepting them?"

"Accepting...?"  
Okay, he was so confused right now. How do you accept an emotion?

"Yeah. It's like you're just ignoring them. That's not a healthy way to deal with emotions, Dan."

Danny swallowed. Gosh, he hated that Chris was starting to see right through him. This would make things a lot more difficult in the future.

"Yeah, okay. Do you want to try again?"

Chris gave him a scrutinizing glance that made Danny want to hide from the intensity of it.

"No, I think we should work on something else."

Danny tried to hide his relief.

"Oh, haha, what would that be?"

Chris smiled crookedly.

"You have a few bad habits we should work on."

Danny drew himself up, trying to look as indignant as possible.

"Me? Bad habits? Proposterous!"

Chris laughed, though it felt a bit wary.

"Oh, you know. Running away from your problems, ignoring your emotions, mistreating your body, not telling anyone anything."  
Chris put emphasis on the last one, half heartedly glaring at him as he did so.

Danny smiled sheepishly before registering what else Chris said.

"Hey, I don't have any problems to run away from, thank you very much. And I was just trying to make myself calm down by not adressing my panic. Also, my body is fine!"

Chris raised his eyebrows. "And the last one?"

"It wasn't important! I've told you this."

"Which brings me to another bad habit; pretending everything is okay when it's not."

"I'm totally fine, though!"

"You just proved my point."

"There is no way to disprove that without making it seem like I'm lying!"

"So do you admit it?"

"I never said that!"

"So you're just gonna keep lying?"

Danny let out a frustrated sound, running a hand through his hair to try and relieve some of the stress. He bit down on his lip, surpressing his anger.

"You're doing it again. Let yourself be angry! This isn't healthy!"

Danny shook his head furiously, worried that he would yell at Chris otherwise.  
His emotions were getting out of control.  
Danny could feel the first jolt of panic at the thought.  
He didn't want to lose control, least of all infront of Chris.

He bit down on his lip harder and ignored the taste of blood. He could hear Chris saying something.

He felt his anger come back at the thought of Chris continuing to lecture him even when he was obviously in distress.  
His skin was itching, his fists were clenching, and he wanted to hit something until his knuckles bled.

A wave of calm washed over him before he could act on the impulse.

The cool softened his anger, quieting the flames as his body relaxed.  
It soothed his tension, clearing his head so that he could see something other than red.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, not realising he had screwed them shut.  
Chris' eyes had already faded back to a gentle blue.

"Are you okay now?"

Danny nodded numbly, faintly aware of a bad taste in his mouth.

Chris must have been closer than he realised, because when he raised his arm it was already a centimeter away from his face.

The boy in blue shifted forward, and Danny blinked.

A glove covered thumb ran across his bottom lip, and when Chris pulled his hand back there was a smudge of blood on the blue clothing.

"You're bleeding."

Danny rubbed at his lip, pulling his hand back to see the red painting it.

Chris sighed.

"I'll let you get cleaned up. Do you want to try again tomorrow?"

Honestly, Danny wasn't sure if he could keep doing this daily. It was surprisingly draining, and he kinda felt like chilling out right now.

"I dunno, man. This is pretty tiring, y'know? Would it be okay if we just, like, chilled for a bit? Not to say we'll never do this again, but, I just..."  
Danny trailed off, awkwardly scratching his arm.

Chris, however, looked delighted at Danny's honesty.

"Of course, dude! If you need some chill time I'm totally down for that!"

He pulled Danny into a hug before letting go again.

"Okay, I'll to take your fridge thing to Wallow, you go get cleaned up, and after our mission we can have some chill time!"

Chris was back to his cheerful self, it seems. The team leader hefted up the invention like it was nothing and happily walked out the door.

Danny huffed out a laugh, amazed at Chris' mood swings.  
There was another warm feeling in his chest, and if the idea of hanging out with Chris only made it spread, well, that was his secret to keep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuugh sorry it took me so long to update. Some shit happened and I was in and out of hospitals all month, but don't worry about that, I'm better now.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaaaaah my first ao3 fanfic. I feel like I'm going to regret this someday, but whatever. Anyways, hope you like it so far. This fandom is pretty much dead, so I thought I'd try to get things moving a little. Ta ta for now~


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